COLDWATER — All season it seems that the Coldwater
defense has had the persona of that classic 1970’s toy
Stretch Armstrong, the doll that one could stretch and stretch
and could not break.
Friday night, the Cavaliers did a lot of stretching in trying
to keep Minster’s Ty Parks from breaking off any big play.
The Minster junior had the opportunities, but not much comfort
at the end of the night as Coldwater held on for the 21-13 win
over the Wildcats at a rainy Cavalier Stadium. The Cavaliers
improve to 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in the MAC while Minster
drops to 3-4 and 2-4 in the MAC.
The Coldwater defense became very well-acquainted with the 5-7
Parks after he rushed 50 times for 226 yards in the contest.
The only thing that prevented Parks from having a strong night
was the fact that with all the carries, only one resulted in
paydirt, a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that
resulted in the only touchdown for the Wildcats all evening.
“I am so proud of them,” Coldwater coach John Reed
said of the defense. “We’ve got those little tackles
out there trying to avoid those 260-pound tackles and holding
their own out there. I can’t say enough on how hard they
played. I really think we grew up in a lot of ways defensively.
I think that’s the first time we’ve responded physically
to a hard-nosed call.”
Parks did not get a chance to break open for some of the big
plays he has made in the past. Save for a 40-yard run in the
first half, Parks averaged just 4.5 yards per carry.
But when the yards were needed the most, Parks suffered an injury
to his left knee late the fourth quarter. Parks missed several
plays, came back in but did not carry the ball afterwards. Minster
coach Whit Parks did not know the extent of his son’s
injuries after the game.
As strong as the Cavalier defense was, the Wildcat defense (Continued
from page 7B)
played just as strong, battled a Coldwater offense that made
a point of passing the ball as much as possible. Coldwater just
had six carries in the first half as senior quarterback Alex
Hoyng completed 13-of-23 passes for 134 yards in the first half,
connecting on two of the passes for touchdowns to Jay Miller
and Craig Wellman respectively.
“We knew coming in that it was going to be a high ratio
of pass,” said coach Parks. “That’s their
style, and they’re very good at it. You can let them catch
all those short things and come up and tackle them, but you
just can’t let them have those long passes.”
Coldwater made it a point to pass from the start. The first
14 plays of the game for Coldwater came on the pass. On the
second series, Hoyng worked the ball for a 59-yard drive that
ended with Hoyng finding Wellman on a three-yard strike to tie
the game at 7-all with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.
After a Minster fumble, Hoyng needed just four plays to make
it 13-7 on a 26-yard strike to Miller. Hoyng finished up completing
17-of-31 passes for 192 yards. Miller snagged nine of the passes
for 146 yards.
Minster was unable to get near the end zone again after the
opening score. Brendan Whitford hit field goals of 27 and 25
to make the score closer.
One big key to the Wildcats’ woes was field position.
Coldwater punter Nick Rengers came up with a strong game, averaging
42.3 yards in four punts, getting a touchback on one and getting
quick special teams’ action to down another at the two.
The other two punts saw Minster start at the 19 and 30-yard
lines.
“Several of those punts were into the wind, and he punted
the ball into the sidelines where Parks (who ran the punt returns)
did not get a chance return it,” said Reed. “Ryan
Lefeld had a perfect snap for him every time and Nick pinned
them down in there.”
Minster was driving late trailing 21-13 when Parks went down
with the injury. The Wildcats had trouble moving the ball deep
in Cav territory and settled for Whitford’s second three-pointer.
After a Coldwater punt with 4:41 to go, Minster lost possession
on a fumble, allowing the Coldwater running game to step up
and burn the clock. Ross Homan rushed for all of his 36 yards
in the final series and picked up three first downs to keep
the drive moving.
Coach Parks was pleased with how his team battled.
“We moved the ball well, but turnovers hurt us,”
said coach Parks. “How many times can you tell your team
they played but didn’t come away with anything? They played
hard against an excellent football team and fought until the
end. I’m proud of them.”
Coldwater faces Versailles on Friday in a battle of not only
the remaining unbeatens in the MAC but also the top two teams
in Division IV in the state football poll. The game will be
at Hole Field in Versailles. Minster returns home to face St.
Henry.